Dennis Smith Jr Takes Over in Final Minutes to Beat OKC

Former NC State point guard Dennis Smith Jr took over for the Mavericks in the final minutes of a 116-113 New Years Eve victory over the Thunder last night.

In fact, he scored 11-straight points for Dallas in the final 1:39 to gain the lead, and keep it.

Dennis Smith Jr scored 12 straight points in the 4th quarter to defeat the Thunder. Mavs increase win streak to 4 pic.twitter.com/JcyJkgcp1M

— Delay of Game Hoops (@delayhoops) January 1, 2018

DSJ finished with 19 points, 6 assists and 4 rebounds, and is averaging 13.8 points, 4.3 assists and 4.1 rebounds on the year. The Mavericks have won 4 straight games.

“[Smith] was great tonight. He finished the game with a couple of big baskets and some big free throws. Look, it was an up-and-down night. There were a lot of pick-and-rolls, and they were trapping him. He hasn’t seen that. He went through some situations, but he kept his energy up, he kept his head up and he kept attacking. He kept encouraging everybody in the huddles during timeouts, too, so it was just so much growth. I’m really happy for him, and we had a lot of other guys play well,” Carlisle said after the win. (NBA)